After working in the kitchens of Ferran Adrià and Andoni Luis Aduriz, Paco Morales worked hard to find his own place on the gastronomic scene, and he found it in his hometown of Cordoba, in a modest neighbourhood called Cañero. There he opened Noor, a restaurant where he brings the rich world of Andalusian cuisine to diners. Together with the historian Rosa Tovar, he researched Arabic recipe books and explored the origins of the culture of Al Andalus.

The result is a unique cuisine that plays with history and flavour, as it does not include products that were later brought to the peninsula from America - such as potatoes, tomatoes and cocoa - and are now common in the Mediterranean diet.

Morales' right-hand person in this historical-gastronomic adventure is the young Italian Paola Gualandi. Trained at the Istituto Statale Istruzione Superiore G.D. Romagnosi (Erba), she did internships in three restaurants and a pastry shop before moving on to El Coq (Vicenza), whose chef secured her an internship at Noor, where the link with Paco was immediate.